Fleet Licence Check News Blog

It would be both foolish and unreasonable to expect that UK roads are always free of banned drivers. Having said that, you might be surprised by the
number of guilty people on the roads. Driving without a licence is a serious problem that data show is only getting worse. And according to police
officials, we're all at risk.

From time to time, we speak with fleet operators who don't really see the necessity for regular licence checks. Perhaps if they knew some of the statistics,
they would think again. According to recent numbers obtained by the BBC, the number of people caught driving while banned increased by 7.5% last
year.

The BBC reports that 14,500 drivers without licences were caught in 2016. Even more disconcerting is data that shows more than 109,600 people were
banned from driving last year. Who knows how many of them have actually taken to the roads without a valid licence? We suspect that those caught
represent only a portion of the true number.

Driving Licences Serve a Purpose

We don't purport to know the mindset of someone who drives while banned, but we do know that licences serve a crucial purpose. Possessing a valid driving
licence indicates a person is both qualified and competent to drive. Being banned from driving after previously possessing a licencemeans a driver
lacks in qualifications, competence or both. That being the case, banned drivers pose a threat to everyone else on the road.

The risk is both personal and financial. In a personal sense, it's not uncommon for banned drivers to cause serious accidents because of their lack
of qualifications or competence. The BBC report included the dash cam video showing a band driver crashing his car. Such accidents harm innocent
people on a regular basis.

In terms of financial consequences, Gloucestershire's chief constable reminded BBC readers that banned drivers also tend to be drivers without insurance.
They cannot get insurance because they've been disqualified, so every time they get behind the wheel of a car they are risking the financial health
of everyone else they come in contact with.

Liability Issues for Business

The statistics on banned drivers speak for themselves. Here at Fleet Licence Check, we specialise in assisting businesses and other organisations with
fleets in performing routine licence checks on their drivers. We do what we do because we know how important it is for fleets to be in compliance
with the law. It's more than safety alone; it's also about liability.

Routine licence checks of professional drivers are necessary to make sure no one who has been banned gets behind the wheel of a car, van or lorry.
If a disqualified driver continues to drive professionally, his or her employer could be held liable in the event of an accident or violation.
In addition to the safety and insurance issues, liability ought to be enough to motivate fleet operators to routinely check licences.

An industry association for companies offering licence checking services says that compliance with the recently issued FORS Standard for yearly licence
checks is improving. The association says that the credit goes to wider access to driver information made possible through the government's technology
upgrades over the years. Read More

It's easy to get confused by the complications involved in the UK licence system. However, if you manage a fleet of professional drivers, then it's essential
to make sure these individuals know how to conduct themselves on the road. Read More

Fleet managers have a lot of different factors to think about when it comes to ensuring the safety and performance of their drivers. For instance, when
their drivers reach the age of 45, or when a fleet manager hires a driver older than 45, that individual may need to renew his or her licence in order
to drive minibuses, buses, or lorries every five years. Read More

For professional fleet managers, it's not only important to keep track of the marks that your drivers have on their licences, but also which kinds of vehicles
they are permitted to drive thanks to their individual level of experience behind the wheel. Read More

Employers that manage a professional fleet of drivers should be completely aware of their responsibility to make sure that they offer clear guidelines
for professional performance among their drivers. Read More

The subject of drivers being stopped unfairly by the police crops up again and again in the media, but a lot of people aren’t actually clear on what their
rights are. Here we take a look at the law and your rights when it comes to being stopped while driving. Read More

When recruiting new employees to your driving fleet, or company that utilises drivers on a regular basis, it's important to ensure that their licence information
is up to date, and that they are eligible to operate vehicles on the UK roads. Read More

If you have recently begun checking your employees driving licences more regularly, then it's important to ensure you have an up-to-date version of the
offence codes that are used to classify illegal driving activities in the UK. These codes reference some of the most serious conviction codes that
might appear on any given license, and additional lists can be found on the DVLA website.
Read More

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